Moonlit Forest
by GreyWarden2009
Summary: A warrior from a far away land tracks a terrible beast across the frozen wastes to the north after his clan was annihilated.  The trail led all the way to Konohagakure.  Sry, first chapter is short, but this is a new field for me.  Rated M for violence.
1. Chapter 1

The sound of a horse's hooves echoing down the road from deep in the forest stirred the tired gate guards who were counting down the minutes until their shift ended.

"What's that?" One of the guards glanced at the other before turning a watchful eye to the dirt road before them.

"Probably some Daime coming to contract some nin," The second guard muttered. What they saw instead, approaching at a slow pace, was a large war horse and a foreigner in its saddle. The foreigner, wearing an assortment of fur and chainmail, looked a lot like a viking, though he did not wear a horned helm. His helmet looked more like a spartan-style helm in the way it protected his face and how it had a fin. The furs the foreigner wore were a dark brown, as was the fur standing up from the fin upon his helm. The foreigner also wore a battered and torn cloak. As for his armaments, the foreigner had a longsword sheathed across his back, a throwing axe in his belt, a round shield slung over his sword on his back, and a six-foot spear in hand. As intimidating as he looked, the guards could tell that he approached the village with no ill intent.

"Hold, foreigner! What is your business in Konohagakure?" The guards stood at attention, even as the oncoming shift arrived, and watched the stranger carefully.

The foreigner's helm lifted slightly as he looked up, "My only business is to rest and resupply. I'm hunting a dangerous beast, and I tracked it all the way here from across the frozen north." The foreinger's accent was thick, though it had a pleasant sound to it.

"The frozen north? Nothing could make it across those wastes!"

Similar comments circulated between the guards before the lead guard stepped foward, "Miyamoto, report this to the Hokage. Foreigner, what are you hunting?"

"A beast that can change its shape from man to wolf. Have there been any sightings around here?" The warrior pulled lightly on the horse's reigns, stopping a few feet from the city's gates.

The guard shook his head, "No, but if there is such a beast, we would surely find it."

The warrior shook his head, "That's no good. Any who are bitten, or even scratched, will be afflicted with the same curse as the beast. You will not be able to harm the monster unless you have silver blades anyways. It even absorbed the magic my clan cast upon it."

"Magic? Do you mean chakra?"

The warrior nodded, "I have heard several travelers refer to my magic as 'chakra.' May I enter? I have been in the saddle for quite awhile."

"One moment," The guard turned in time to see Miyamoto returning.

"The Hokage said he is clear to enter, she will be having a Jounin shadowing his moves for now," Miyamoto said, whispering to the lead guard..

"Alright, foreigner, you are clear to enter. Good hunt to you," The lead guard said.

"It is far from a good hunt, friend, far from good," The warrior said sadly as he nudged the horse's flanks, urging the tired war horse further along the road.

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><p><strong>AN: I know this is kind of short, but this is my first crack at a Naruto fanfic. Shoot me some reviews so I can see if I should continue with this fic!**


	2. Chapter 2

People stopped to stare as the foreigner and his war horse passed through the winding streets of Konohagakure. Earlier, when he had passed through the city's gate, the warrior sensed that he was being watched. It mattered not to him what the people of this strange city did, he was after the beast that had wreaked havoc in his homeland.

The warrior's stomach growled loudly as he rode in silence, so he simply followed his nose until he came to a stop infront of a small wooden building with curtains in the doorway. The foreigner dismounted, tied the horse's reigns to one of the building's support beams, then went inside.

"Welcome to Ichiraku's Ramen, what can I get for...you?" The young woman at the door trailed off when she saw the warrior.

The foreigner smiled to himself inside his helm, "What do you have?"

A blonde man at the bar turned around, his eyes widening when he saw the stranger, "Well, you certainly look wierd!" The young, pink-haired woman with him slugged him in the shoulder. Hard.

"Baka! Sorry about Naruto, he's a bit of an idiot," The pink-haired woman said, smiling.

"Aw, Sakura!" The blonde whined before turning his attention to the bowl sitting in front of him.

"No harm done. Now, lass, what do you serve here?" The warrior turned his attention to the waitress.

"They serve ramen!" The blonde's shout received a dirty look from his companion, so he wisely shut his mouth. For the time being, anyways.

"Um, ramen is the primary dish we serve here. It's a bowl of noodles in broth served with meat. Different meats and broths determine what kind of ramen it is," The waitress explained somewhat nervously.

Looking over the blonde's shoulder, the warrior nodded, "I'll have the same as him, then. He is obviously enjoying it."

The waitress nodded, "Alright, Teuchi! One pork miso ramen!"

"Ayame, is Naruto already done with the bowl I just sent out?" The man's voice that echoed from behind the counter, in what the warrior guessed was the kitchen, sounded surprised.

"No, we have another customer," The waitress, Ayame, said as she watched the warrior take a seat at the bar. He removed his helmet and set it on the counter before ruffling his shoulder-length, dark brown hair. His lightly tanned skin seemed at odds with the warrior's dark, violet eyes. He looked over and caught both the waitress and the pink-haired woman staring at him, causing both to turn away quickly. He merely chuckled quietly as he waited for his meal, which was served a moment later by an older man that emerged from the kitchen.

"Welcome to Ichiraku's, foreigner. Do you mind if I ask where you came from?" The older man glanced at the duo sitting to the warrior's left before watching the stranger.

"The frozen north," The warrior said, removing his reinforced chainmail gauntlets and picking up the chopsticks awkwardly. He looked over at how the duo held the utensils, then adjusted his grip accordingly.

"Really? That seems like a long, if not dangerous, way to come for no reason," Teuchi said, raising his eyebrows in surprise.

"I certainly came this far for a good reason, friend," The warrior said darkly.

Sakura turned to face the foreigner, "The guards at the gate reported that you were here hunting a monster. Is that true?"

"Aye, lass, it is true. The beast-" The warrior started, but was cut off when a long, low howl echoed in from outside, "speak of the devil!" The warrior snatched his helmet off the bar, donned it, and was out the door faster than anyone could follow. The war horse's heavy hooves echoed through the streets as it, and its rider, galloped away.

"He didn't pay for his meal," Ayame said.

"...Yes he did," Teuchi said, picking up one of the gold coins that had been left on the table and looking at it with a wide eyed expression.

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><p>The buildings whipped past as the warrior urged the horse along faster, the people in the street diving out of the way as the war horse approached. Suddenly, the buildings were gone and the foreigner found himself riding into a forest where the sounds of battle could be heard in the distance. Just before the horse and rider reached the clearing, the sounds ceased. The sight that met the warrior as he entered the clearing was truly horrific.<p>

The foreigner could tell that there had been a few, possibly as many as six, men in the clearing when something had arrived and torn them apart. The monster, which was long gone by now, could only be the warrior's prey. Searching the killing field for survivors, the foreigner found one leaning against a tree, though he would not live much longer. Even though the man had worn a thick green vest with pouches on the front, the beast's claws had rended through the protective clothing and into the flesh beneath, leaving four long gashes in the man's chest and stomach. Blood trailed out of both sides of the man's mouth as he drew in a ragged breath.

The warrior walked over to the man and knelt down next to him, resting a hand on the dying man's shoulder, "Your pain will end soon, and then you will join the *_Vali._ Can you describe the beast that has done this?"

The man opened one of his eyes slowly, "I...It was...it looked like a...a wolf...but it...it stood like a man...such dark fur...as black as midnight...but its eyes...they were a-as white as the...the moon..."

"Thank you, friend. Is there any message you wish to be passed to those you leave behind?" The foreigner removed his helmet as he spoke, then gripped the man's hand.

The man nodded slowly, "Please...tell my w-wife th-that I'm...that I'm s-sorry...I just wish...that I could have seen...seen our daughter grow up...h-happy." A single tear trailed down the man's cheek as he fell silent for the last time, the light leaving his eyes as his grip loosened.

"You have my word, friend. Join your friends in the ranks of the Vali and rest easy in the halls of *_Valhalla._" The foreigner stood, donning his helmet as several more men arrived in the clearing. One in particular had silver hair, wore a mask over the lower half of his face, and a headband over one eye.

"You! Did you do this?" One of the men pulled a knife and settled into a fighting stance when he saw the foreigner.

"No. These men were unlucky enough to be the first victims of the beast I have been hunting for some time now. I am only sorry I had not arrived sooner," The warrior said, shaking his head sadly.

"So your 'monster' did this? Were any alive when you got here?" The silver-haired man asked.

"Kakashi, you can't possibly believe this outlander!" The first man shouted.

"Examine the injuries for yourself. I, for sure, don't have any reason to tear a man's throat out. Only this man was alive when he got here. He wished for his wife to know that he was sorry, and that he wanted to be able to see his daughter grow up happy," The foreigner said, gesturing to the body leaning against the tree.

Kakashi sighed, "Iruka, report this to the Hokage. We'll need to have a curfew put in place until this is resolved."

"The beast won't attack again so soon. Since it has had it's fill of human flesh, it won't reappear until the next full moon. That won't be for another few weeks. The most you can do is prepare for that moment." The warrior walked over to his horse and mounted up. With that, the foreigner rode off into the forest as the full moon reached its peak in the night sky.

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><p><strong>AN: A little longer this time, and I felt that I needed to change the rating as I realized that there is a great chance that this story could get a little messy. Please send a review to tell me how I am doing, or if I am screwing up somewhere. Now, I will be weaving a few old Norse words into this story to fit my OC better. I will put a little note after the story to tell you what they mean.**

**Valhalla- The viking 'Heaven' where all fallen warriors go to after their deaths**

**Vali- Old Norse word for 'battle slain'**


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